Marina Mandrikova, PhD student in the Department of Art and Art History, will travel to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece (ASCSA) this fall for the prestigious M. Alison Frantz Fellowship in Post-Classical Studies at the Gennadius Library.
Mandrikova studies Byzantine and Old Slavic visual culture, exploring the images of the damned in monumental paintings. She focuses on the nature of the sins and crimes depicted in the paintings and the diversity and severity of the punishments brought to the wrongdoers.
“Being a member of ASCSA will also allow me to establish professional contacts with Greek scholars who are crucial for my research, study wall paintings in the nearby Balkan countries and dramatically improve my Greek,” Mandrikova expressed.
Because Greek scholars have conducted the majority of the research surrounding the most dramatic and best preserved paintings of the sinners, access to the resources at the Gennadius Library will allow Mandrikova to fully develop her thesis. During her nine-month residency, she will study the national archival materials, dissertations, monographs and scholarly articles, all of which are nearly impossible to access in the United States. The library also houses an Archaeological Photographic Collection and provides access to the Benaki Photographic Archives, allowing Mandrikova to study the wall paintings from Greek churches that are no longer standing.
“I am very pleased to see that Marina’s creative scholarly work is receiving attention in the form of this prestigious award,” Elizabeth Bolman, chair of the Department of Art and Art History said. “I know that the competition for the Frantz Fellowship is intense. The extensive resources of the ASCSA will enable Marina to make substantial progress on her ambitious dissertation.”
Mandrikova is studying under the supervision of Bolman and received her Masters of Art in World Art History and International Relations from the St. Petersburg State University in Russia. Her fellowship is awarded for the 2021-2022 academic year.